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Ottoman band's parade in Hollywood canceled amid Armenian protest

September 29, 2011 | 8:36
am

A planned parade with an Ottoman military marching band in Hollywood has been canceled amid uproar from Armenian groups.

The permit for the parade, scheduled for Oct. 3 on Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and La Brea avenues, was pulled Wednesday, the Glendale News-Press reported, citing an official with the Los Angeles Police Commission.

The reason for the cancellation was not immediately available.

But the Armenian groups said the event was an affront because of the genocidal murders that took place from 1915 to 1923 when roughly 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman-Turks. Turkey has refused to acknowledge the massacre as genocide.

Some of the groups condemning the performance were the Armenian Youth Federation and Armenian National Committee, which called the march "tantamount to hate speech and harassment."

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti and Councilman Paul Krekorian said in a joint statement that they were “pleased” the event was canceled.

The “Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire is a wound that continues to fester,” they said in the statement.